The 1832 Reform Act

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Democracy can be defined as a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. Arguably in this respect, the Great Reform Act of 1832 did not move Britain towards democracy, as the electoral system was not made free, nor was the power fully vested in the people. The Great Reform Act did however instigate an introduction of other crucial reforms which gradually made Britain a more democratic country, such as the 1918 Representation of the People Act, which introduced women into the electorate for the first time in British history. Therefore, it is justified to argue that the Great Reform Act was indeed the key turning point as although it didn’t expand the franchise as much as some of the other Acts did, it provided the foundation on which a more democratic and representative government was established.

The 1832 Reform Act was the first major attempt in changing the static Parliamentary system since the sixteenth century; it was the beginning of the evolution of British politics. The Act changed the franchise qualification in both borough and county constituencies and consequently, it delivered an increase in the electorate from 478,000 to 813,000; which grew further as wealth increased and more men owned enough property to qualify for the vote.

The redistribution of 143 seats resulted in industrial boroughs such as Manchester and Sheffield gaining an MP for the very first time and subsequently, there was a rise in the number of urban middle class voters who were now recognised and admitted into the political system. In contrast, the monarch’s influence in politics decreased due to the Reform Act, as there were fewer s...

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...ics 1830-1852, Macmillan Education LTD, 1989.

Wood, Anthony, Nineteenth Century Britain 1815-1914, Longman Group Limited, 1960.

Lang, Sean, Parliamentary Reform, Routledge, 1999.

Wright, D.G, Democracy and Reform 1815-1885, Longman Group Limited, 1970.

Evans, Eric J, Britain Before the Reform Act: Politics and Society 1815-1832, Longman, Group Limited, 1989.

Lowe, Norman, Mastering Modern British History, Macmillan Education Ltd, 1984.

Cole Matt and Hartley Debbie, 1832 An Unseen Advance for Democracy?, Modern History Review, September 1990.

The 1832 Great Reform Act, http://history.edjakeman.com/2010/09/1832-great-reform-act.html, Accessed 28th February 2011.

Walton, John, Impact of the Second Reform Act, http://www.orange.k12.oh.us/teachers/ohs/tshreve/apwebpage/readings/secondreformbill.html, 31 September 1998, Accessed 23rd February 2011.

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